President Barack Obama says the spike in unaccompanied minors being caught trying to cross the Mexican border is an "urgent humanitarian situation."

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the spike in unaccompanied minors being caught trying to cross the Mexican border is an "urgent humanitarian situation."

Obama issued a presidential memorandum Monday outlining the government's response to the influx of migrant children caught along the border. Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate is in charge of a multi-agency response, which includes the Homeland Security Department, and the departments of Defense, State and Health and Human Services.

Last month the administration told members of Congress that it underestimated how much it would cost to deal with the influx of child migrants trying to cross the border alone. The government is now asking for an extra $1.4 billion to deal with the increase.

Popular Comments

Back in January 2004 the Bush administration ordered a Border Patrol survey of
people captured while trying to sneak in from Mexico. It took 18 months to get
it, but a group called Judicial Watch got the results.Some 45% said they
were crossing
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5:03 p.m. June 2, 2014

Top comment

GaryO

Virginia Beach, VA

How is "child" defined? The article didn't say.

What is
the maximum age of a child?

Is a child someone 18 years old or
younger?

1.5 billion is not small potatoes. To put it in perspective,
it's 3
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